General Assembly of the Court of Cassation Approves Distribution of Circles' Jurisdictions and Appeals

The General Assembly of the Court of Cassation decided yesterday to approve the arrangement and composition of the judicial circuits, their jurisdictions, the number of their sessions, and their meeting schedules, alongside establishing a mechanism for distributing appeals to the various circuits.

In the administrative sector, the First Administrative Circuit, chaired by Advisor Mohammed Al-Rafai, was assigned appeals concerning requests to annul final administrative decisions, administrative contract lawsuits, and requests by judicial officials. The Second Administrative Circuit, chaired by Advisor Dr. Jamal Al-Anizi, specializes in appeals by civil servants regarding their pensions, appeals filed by or against the Public Institution for Social Security, as well as appeals against rulings declaring lack of jurisdiction. The Third Administrative Circuit, chaired by Advisor Najib Al-Majid, handles appeals related to education and the equivalence of foreign certificates, citizenship lawsuits, and cases addressing the status of residents living illegally. It also handles lawsuits involving employees of public bodies and institutions, holders of specialized cadres, and leadership positions, as well as appeals concerning appointment and entry into public service, and all appeals that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the first and second circuits.

The General Assembly decided to distribute criminal appeals according to their serial numbers across three circuits: the first circuit hears appeals starting with numbers 1, 4, and 7; the second circuit hears those starting with 2, 5, and 8; and the third circuit hears those starting with 3, 6, and 9. Appeals starting with the number 0 are distributed according to the subsequent digit. Civil appeals are to be distributed electronically and equally among four circuits, with the Second Civil and Labor Circuit, chaired by Advisor Adel Al-Isa, specializing in appeals against rulings declaring lack of jurisdiction.

Regarding labor appeals, appeals starting with numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 are distributed to the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Civil and Labor Circuits, respectively. The Fifth Labor Circuit specializes in appeals starting with numbers 5 through 9, while appeals starting with the number 0 are distributed according to the subsequent digit. The Assembly assigned appeals concerning Kuwait Airways to the Third Civil and Labor Circuit, chaired by Advisor Saleh Al-Raqdan, and labor appeals in the oil sector to the Fifth Labor Circuit, chaired by Advisor Dr. Adel Boursali. The existing circuits will continue to hear labor appeals currently pending before them until they are adjudicated.

In commercial matters, appeals are to be distributed electronically and equally among seven circuits. The Fourth Commercial Circuit, chaired by Advisor Bader Al-Hudail, specializes in appeals against rulings declaring lack of jurisdiction. Appeals concerning civil family matters are referred to the Personal Status and Family Circuit, chaired by Advisor Abdul Latif Al-Thunayan.

The Assembly also decided to form a Disciplinary Council for Judges and the Special Judicial Committee stipulated in the Law Regulating the Judiciary, and authorized the Court President to make any necessary adjustments to the composition and arrangement of circuits, evening sessions, and appeal review committees during the judicial year, as required by the interests of work. The General Assembly set the meeting time for sessions at 9:00 a.m., except for circuits with other specified schedules, with all sessions to be held in designated halls.